


Acting and Reaction

by misura



Category: Switch (Manga)
Genre: M/M, Missing Scene, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-15 02:13:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/844112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"I can't believe they're making you dress up like a high-school student."</i> (missing scene snippets from vol 2 and 3)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Acting and Reaction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sententiae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sententiae/gifts).



There's a flash of pain as Shiba's fist hits the wall - too hard, really; the goal is distraction, not getting an injury that will require explanations, excuses, putting up with Takei fussing over him. The pain fades in seconds, leaving a dull, throbbing ache. His knuckles feel about as raw as they look.

He'll have some trouble writing for a while, probably. If he'd been left-handed, which he isn't.

Nothing's been broken - even the wall doesn't show so much as a scratch. If he puts his hand into the pocket of his jacket (as he has done, because it does hurt), nobody looking at him would be able to tell there's anything wrong with him at all.

And, of course, there isn't. There's nothing wrong with Shiba. _He's_ not the one who -

_Stupid wall,_ Shiba thinks. The smart thing to do would be to move, get some air, maybe. There's people out there, though, and that second time stung a bit; he can feel his eyes tearing up. Not a smart thing, to go out there, looking like he does right now. Like he's crying.

_Stupid Takei._

 

_earlier_

"I can't believe they're making you dress up like a high-school student."

The funny thing was that the uniform looked sort of good on Takei. Natural. He didn't look like a grown man playing dress-up. He looked like the real thing.

"All for a good cause," Takei said lightly. Shiba wondered, suddenly, what Takei'd been like in high school. Popular, probably; a nice guy and not bad-looking. Not really mean enough to make it to the top of the food chain, though, Shiba didn't think. "Besides, it's not as if this is worse than watching non-stop porn for two days. Or playing mother to a pair of baby pandas."

"We needed to find evidence they were using kids," Shiba said. They'd been, too, even if the kiddie stuff'd been mixed in with a lot of perfectly normal porn. (Well, maybe not the one with the vacuum cleaner. And Shiba hadn't really understood the appeal of the whole vegetable special, but, well, to each his own. As long as everyone taking part was all nice and legal.) "And I volunteered for the pandas."

"For two weeks."

"There was some trouble getting the paperwork," Shiba said defensively. The little buggers had looked cute and harmless. Perfect to enhance his reputation as a sensitive, caring guy with a soft spot for animals. "And if you don't want to talk about the case, can't you just say so instead of bringing back all of these traumatic memories?"

Takei chuckled and didn't apologize. Not a good sign, although it might just be that he was a bit distracted. Cover assignments did that to him sometimes, Shiba knew. Got his head stuck in someone else's life, someone else's easy to fix problems. "It's only a preliminary investigation."

"Yeah." Customs didn't deal with a lot of kids. That didn't mean Shiba didn't know what they could get like, be like, under the wrong circumstances. "So you just keep your head down, right? Nice and easy."

"Of course. I'm a model student."

Had he been? Shiba mused. It was tempting to think so, tempting to imagine Takei had always been the way he was now. Why not? There had to be people like that; just because Shiba himself hadn't always been a virtuous, law-abiding citizen, that didn't mean -

"I'll come pick you up again tomorrow," he said. He'd covered often enough for Jun and Kagami; time to call in those markers and get off a bit early.

"People might see. You could ruin my reputation."

"Just say I'm family," Shiba said, and then, because being around Takei had always made him feel stupidly heroic: "I'll talk to Hiki if you want me to. Ask him to let me in on this one."

"You worry too much," Takei said. "And I don't think anyone's going to believe I kiss my uncle goodbye."

_At least he didn't say 'Dad',_ Shiba thought, lighting up a cigarette.

 

Either Chief Hiki didn't share Shiba's concerns, or, well, he did.

_Brilliant, Shiba. You ought to be an investigator or something._

No communication of any kind had arrived to tell him kindly but firmly to back the hell off from this investigation. Shiba didn't have the illusion that Hiki didn't know he'd contacted Takei - in fact, he'd rather expected to be chewed out about it. Instead, nothing. Nada.

A man less worried about his partner might be cracking right about now, knowing that _something_ had to be coming, and that, knowing Hiki's reputation, it couldn't possibly be good.

 

"First," Takei said. Crowed, practically. "First out of fifty-two."

"Congratulations. You graduated high school." Shiba started to reach for a cigarette, then realized it might be better not to. The smell might get into Takei's uniform.

Takei scowled. "You're just jealous."

"And you've just given fifty-one kids a reason to hate your guts," Shiba said. "How's that helping your investigation?" True, Shiba didn't think he'd have done nearly so well himself. Then again, he was old enough to know that in the end, getting good grades didn't mean a thing. Look at Tsuyuki; the guy'd probably been top of his class. A teacher's pet, and knowing just who to suck up to in order to look good and get a nice recommendation.

"Fine. I'll bomb the next test. Happy?"

"That's going to look rather suspicious, isn't it?"

It might be an in, depending. The story wasn't that unknown; a top student, suddenly seeing his grades falling. Desperately looking for a way - any way, to get them back up. Turning to drugs as a way to cheat fate and getting hooked, even if the stuff didn't actually give him what he'd been looking for, sliding further and further down until he'd gotten in too deep. Shiba'd seen it happen.

He'd never been a particularly good student himself.

Takei'd been one, though, Shiba was willing to bet. Takei always wanted to do the best he could do. Didn't like to give up, to admit defeat. Not a poor loser, in spite of that.

Shiba liked that about him. Among many other things.

 

They put Shiba on surveillance, that day. Hiki's doing, he suspected later - much later.

At the time itself, he was just happy to be asked to help. Happy to be keeping an eye (well, an ear) on Takei, to make sure everything was going as it should be, except that it wasn't.

It wasn't.

*

"So I guess I'm really a very good actor, huh?"

Takei's mouth is bloody and bruised, and Shiba knows it's not because Takei's been smacking it against a wall. His left hand throbs. He wants to grab the collar of Takei's shirt and either shake some mercy into him or kiss him for being alive and mostly unharmed.

"Very convincing." His hands are shaking as he gets out a cigarette and lights it. Smoking's supposed to help people relax. Shiba's not sure if it's true. He's half-heartedly tried to quit a few times.

Takei doesn't seem bothered by it. Never has. "I knew. They told me to fake it, to pretend it was the real stuff. I knew all along."

_I was still scared out of my mind,_ is what Shiba hears, and how is he supposed to stay angry after hearing Takei admit something like that? "Next time I tell you I'm worried, maybe you'll listen."

_You weren't the only one. Damn idiot._

"Ah." Takei manages a weak smile. "I'll do that. Promise."

"C'mon. I'll drive you home. You need to be in bed. Get a good night's rest."

"I thought we might go somewhere. Someplace where there's lots of people and bright lights and loud music," Takei says, and Shiba wishes he knew of some way to keep away bad dreams.

"And hot chicks?" To look at, if nothing more. Takei's definitely not in any state to be going home with anyone other than Shiba right now.

"Of course."

"I might know of a place."

"You usually do."


End file.
